Sometimes I'd rather be paddling upstream than be stuck behind a desk all day. I love my job and being self-employed does have its perks, although at times it can make a person feel like a fish out of water.

I worked a desk job at the newspaper for 30 years, but now I seem to get antsy when spring and summer are in full swing. Probably because I know my boss won't fire me for playing hooky.

Sharing your life and employment with your mate has its pros and cons.

With weekends full of watching grandkids, either at our house or at their activities, and 10 acres of grass to mow and a garden to weed, we let ourselves fall into the trap of working during our down time instead of enjoying each other's company.

Being self employed means you can take an afternoon off to play with grandkids, but it also means you find yourself working more than just the 8-to-5 shift. Our entertainment lately on the weekends has been to visit about work, as we work. All work and no play is making me grumpy.

There's good reason, for more than two decades, my husband's businesses have been so successful. He's driven, disciplined and focused — OK, let's get real here — he's a workaholic. I am, too, although recently I decided it's time to throw out some bait and see what I can catch.

Playing with the kids is the glue that holds couples together when you're young, but when you're empty nesters, you need to have something you enjoy doing together, besides watching, what Dad called, the idiot box. For me and my guy, it's always been fishing.

It used to be just a hop, skip and a jump and we'd be fishing the pond on the 10 acres. Unfortunately, the drought the last couple of years has reduced it down to a watering hole for frogs, turtles and an occasional goose or two.

The fishing boat we used to take out to the many local lakes we're fortunate to have nearby became home for junk on top of the boat cover and rodents underneath.

I didn't want to resort to it, but I had no choice, it was time to take action. I started whining.

How many men can say their significant other will actually whine about not fishing? It took a month, which isn't too bad considering men can only listen to whining 10 percent of the time, to get the boat out of the barn. It took an entire weekend to get the mice and ants out and get everything cleaned as he replaced batteries, repaired nibbled up wiring and tested everything multiple times.

So far so good, as getting ready to fish has kept him away from the grind of the paper shuffling, which makes him happy, which makes me even happier.

Page 2 of 2 - By the time this hits the press, I should be in my spot in the boat with a line in the water, not caring if I get a bite or not because my bait already worked.